Cramlington mum supports proposed social media restrictions
Starmer is preparing to announce social media restrictions for children
The Mother of a 12-year-old from Cramlington who took her own life has come out in support of proposed social media restrictions.
The restrictions are expected to be announced by Prime Minister Keir Starmer in the next 10-days.
They are expected to include curfews, time limits, and even bans for certain apps.
Jay Patterson has been advocating for “Charley’s Law” since 2020, the year her daughter died.
The law is intended to improve how mental health issues in young people are handled by the NHS.
Ms. Patterson says that her daughters Mental Health issues could be attributed largely to the bullying that she was exposed to online.
She thinks restrictions on social media use are a good idea but argues that education would be more effective.
“It’s not as straightforward as saying that a blanket ban for every child under the age of 16 is going to work.
"I do think there is a major problem with social media, as we saw with Charley it can lead to cyberbullying.”
She went on to say “I would personally favour a risk-based approach, rather than a blanket ban. I think that stronger age verification and restriction on features like late-night messages are good, but also actually offering some education on social media.”
Ms. Patterson also questioned whether the education system is doing enough to safeguard kids against online bullying.
“Maybe it’s about time that the school system kept up and stared teaching things that are needed now… a bit of education on social media is never a bad thing.”